TIM, formerly Telecom Italy Mobile, and Xiaomi, the Chinese electronics company, have announced a new, wide-ranging collaborative agreement.
They will focus on accelerating the launch of 5G devices and solutions in Italy. TIM will provide Xiaomi with expertise and resources at its research centre, where a number of 5G initiatives are already underway. TIM will also make its partner ecosystem available to Xiaomi via the company’s Innovation Hubs.
In return, Xiaomi will supply TIM with technical and management support during the development and certification phase of 5G products as the partners prepare to launch joint 5G services.
Particular potential
TIM and Xiaomi see particular potential for 5G in markets such as smart cities, public safety, Industry 4.0 and entertainment.
They will concentrate their research activities on transmission capacity, reduced latency, beam steering and access to enhanced mobile broadband to create new use cases and business models in these areas.
Central role
Mario Di Mauro, Chief Innovation & Customer Experience Officer at TIM, said, “Our partnership with Xiaomi is further proof of the central role innovation plays at TIM and confirms our determination to lead the digital ecosystem.
“This commitment calls for advancing the availability of 5G services and terminals on the Italian market as early as we can with the goal of continuously offering our customers the most advanced technological solutions and guaranteeing them the best customer experience possible.”
Wang Xiang, Senior Vice President, Xiaomi, said, “We’re confident that this partnership with TIM will accelerate our efforts so ‘Mi Fans’ [the popular handset made by Xiaomi] in Italy can enjoy the benefits of 5G technology.”